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Terminal basics

Terminal is an app on every Mac where you type commands instead of clicking buttons. You don't need it to install or use Poof!: the download does everything. This page is for the few things that still mention a command, such as the one-command install for technical people or signing in to ChatGPT, and you never have to type a command yourself: copy it and paste it in.

Open Terminal

  1. Press ⌘ Space to open Spotlight.
  2. Type Terminal and press Return.

You can also find it in Finder, under Applications → Utilities → Terminal.

A plain window opens with one line of text ending in %. That line is the prompt: it means Terminal is waiting for you.

Paste a command

  1. In this manual, select the whole command in its grey box and press ⌘C.
  2. Click inside the Terminal window and press ⌘V.
  3. Press Return.
  4. Wait until a new line ending in % appears before you paste the next command.

When a box holds several lines, paste and run them one line at a time unless the page says otherwise. Lots of text scrolling past is normal.

Go to the Poof! folder

This is only for people who run Poof! from its source code (GitHub: coming soon). Most of its commands must run from inside that folder. If the code is in a folder called poof in your home folder, paste:

cd ~/poof

Shortcut: type cd and a space, drag the Poof! folder from Finder onto the Terminal window, then press Return.

Good to know

  • Stop what's running: click in the window and press Control-C. This is also how you stop Poof!.
  • Closing the window stops anything running in it, Poof! included.
  • "command not found" means a tool isn't installed yet. The page that gave you the command says which tools it needs.
  • Typing a password shows nothing on screen, not even dots. Type it anyway and press Return.
  • Run the same command again: press the ↑ key to bring back the last one, then Return.